The Biggest Pizzas Ever Eaten On Man V Food

Adam Richman and Casey Webb have each eaten their fair share of gigantic, extravagant, and otherwise over-the-top pizzas as the hosts of "Man v. Food." While a typical episode of the culinary travel series revolves around a food challenge, beforehand, Richman or Webb showcases another restaurant or two in the same city as that challenge. Sometimes, a dish in one of those opening segments may well be challenge-worthy, even if it's not explicitly something that daring diners are tasked with finishing in a competitive environment.

Taking into account more than 170 episodes across 10 seasons, the largest pizzas to make it into an episode of "Man v. Food" may well be among some of the most over-the-top pizzas in America. The following list, then, is comprised of the biggest pizzas ever eaten on "Man v. Food," whether they're part of a proper food challenge or from a restaurant that Richman or Webb visits prior to the main event.

Early on in "Man v. Food," prior even to Adam Richman's first-ever attempt at a pizza challenge, he spotlights a pizza in Chicago, Illinois capable of challenging diners' stomachs all the same. This particular pizza, which Richman tries in Season 1, Episode 6, is a menu item at famed Chicago deep dish purveyor Gino's East. Befitting its extravagance, it's called the Meaty Legend.

Chicago deep dish pizza, it's worth noting, is pretty much always substantial — the style, as its detractors are quick to point out, is arguably closer to a savory pie than a standard pizza. Richman explains that pizzas at Gino's East can weigh up to 5 pounds. However, a large Meaty Legend exceeds even that, appearing to be the biggest pizza available at the famed Chicago spot and perhaps one of the largest pizzas in all of Chicago. Its dough contributes 2 pounds alone, on top of which is more than a pound of mozzarella cheese. Then, on top of that are a whopping 4 pounds of meats as well as a pound of sauce, bacon bits, and Romano cheese. The Meaty Legend, then, is a particularly indulgent take on a style of pizza that's already indulgent by design.

The first proper "Man v. Food" pizza challenge takes place in Season 1, Episode 7, just one episode after Adam Richman visits Gino's East in Chicago. For his inaugural on-screen attempt at downing an enormous pizza in its entirety, Richman visits a pizzeria called Big Pie in the Sky in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. There, he teams with a friend named Drew Middlebrooks to take a stab at what the pizzeria calls its Carnivore Challenge.

Big Pie in the Sky tasks teams of two with eating a 30-inch meat lover's pizza that weighs 11 pounds in total. On the clock is one hour. At the time of this episode's filming, no duo had ever succeeded at this challenge. Awarded to any team that succeeds is $250. At first, Richman and his companion make some promising headway into the oversized slices on their plates. However, around the halfway point, their momentum slows to a halt. Ultimately, this "Man v. Food" pizza challenge proves too much for Richman and Middlebrooks. In fact, what puts a stop to the challenge is Middlebrooks' stomach, which — to put it politely — rejects some of the pizza he's just eaten. This results in a disqualification, but for what it's worth, it was unlikely that the duo would have finished anyway. Simply put, 11 pounds of pizza is too much for virtually any two human beings to handle.

Adam Richman kicks off "Man v. Food" Season 2 with a visit to San Antonio, Texas. While the food challenge he undertakes there revolves around extreme heat, he first stops at Big Lou's to show off a pizza with a whopping 42-inch diameter. Fittingly, Big Lou's calls its signature 42-incher the Big Lou 42. Richman explains that a single Big Lou 42 weighs a grand total of 30 pounds. Just one slice, he goes on to demonstrate, rivals the size of an entire personal pizza. For what it's worth, this isn't the pizzeria's only extravagant option — Richman also samples a 20-inch-diameter brisket pizza.

While preparing a Big Lou 42 for "Man v. Food," owner Brian Lujan demonstrates his pizza-making prowess by tossing an unbaked 42-inch crust as if it weren't any bigger than a regular pizza. When he begins adding toppings, it turns out that its cheese component accounts for 6 pounds alone. Further toppings include pepperoni, Canadian bacon, beef, Italian sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms, black olives, green olives, tomatoes, and garlic. That's then topped with more cheese and baked in a conveyor belt-style pizza oven. Once it's served, a single slice of this monstrosity is so substantial, even two plates aren't quite enough to hold one in its entirety.

After showing off a Texas pizza that's big even by Texas standards in Season 2, Episode 1, Adam Richman attempts his first and only "Man v. Food" Season 2 pizza challenge in Episode 20. Near Hartford, Connecticut, Richman takes a stab at what the Wooster St. Pizza Shop calls its Stuffed Pizza Challenge.

This so-called Stuffed Pizza is 22 inches in diameter and weighs 10 pounds. Its name refers to the fact that there's a second layer of crust over its toppings — which include five kinds of veggies, 2 pounds of meat, and a full 3 pounds of cheese — such that it's almost equal parts pizza and calzone. Just like the Carnivore Challenge in Season 1, Episode 7, it's up to teams of two to finish the Stuffed Pizza within an hour. At the time of filming, an estimated 99% of challengers had failed the Stuffed Pizza Challenge, earning each of them a spot on Wooster St. Pizza Shop's wall of shame. Joining Richman is Greg Molumi, one of the deep-stomached few to have succeeded at the challenge already. Against all odds, Richman and Molumi tackle the 10-pound beast with just one second left on the clock, avoiding the pizzeria's wall of shame by literally the narrowest margin humanly possible.

"Man v. Food" Season 3 is absent a proper pizza challenge, but Adam Richman does spotlight an indulgent style of pizza in Season 3, Episode 2. In the lead-up to a chicken wing challenge in Boulder, Colorado, Richman visits a nearby pizzeria called Beau Jo's, famous for its massive Mountain Pies.

The Mountain Pie is a Beau Jo's original. Structurally, this underrated Colorado-style of pizza pie is somewhere between Chicago deep dish and a classic New York slice. While not quite as close to an actual pie as a Chicago deep dish, a towering 4-inch, braided crust around its perimeter allows for a substantial build-up of toppings that would simply not be feasible on a flatter style of pizza. Richman explains that a standard extra-large at Beau Jo's weighs 5 pounds alone, but he inevitably finds something even bigger on the menu: the 14-pound Grand Sicilian. One Grand Sicilian consists of 7 pounds of dough and 20 ounces of marinara sauce, as well as 7 pounds of cheese and other toppings. Included are onions, green peppers, mushrooms, Italian sausage, and ground beef. A standard Mountain Pie may already be pretty formidable, but the Grand Sicilian would be a day-one entry into a theoretical ginormous pizza hall of fame.

Casey Webb debuts as the second host of "Man v. Food" in Season 5, Episode 1, which takes place in New York City. Before hitting up a restaurant called the Lunchbox for its Pick Your Poison Challenge, Webb stops at Vinnie's Pizzeria in Brooklyn for a pizza-topped pizza complete with its own edible pizza packaging.

At Vinnie's — after showing off some creative menu items like a mac 'n' cheese pizza and a quesadilla-themed slice called the Caseydilla after the "Man v. Food" host — Webb profiles the famous Pizza Box Pizza. Its base is a standard pepperoni pie, but that's topped with smaller slices of a second pepperoni pizza. While already pretty impressive, upping the wow factor and providing the item with its name is a pizza box housing that double pizza, made almost entirely out of pizza. Whereas the base and its topping are New York pizzas, the bottom of the box is Sicilian, which is a doughier, rectangular style. The only component that's not fully pizza is the box's lid, which consists of pizza dough made into a garlic bread. Three pizzas in one make for what truly must be one of the largest pizzas in a city world-famous for its pizza.

The first time on-air that Casey Webb sets his sight on a pizza challenge is in "Man v. Food" Season 6, Episode 4. At Schiappa's Pizza & Pasta near St. Louis, Missouri, Webb tries his hand at a challenge that tasks two diners with finishing a 29-inch, four-topping pizza in its totality. Complicating this task significantly is a time limit of just 30 minutes. That said, beyond immense satisfaction, winners receive a free pizza a month for a year.

Funnily enough, while restaurants in St. Louis oftentimes serve a St. Louis style of pizza unique to the region, Schiappa's opts instead for classic New York pies. Aiding Webb in the 29-Inch Pizza Challenge is Ryan Maassen, who has already succeeded at the challenge, albeit a full 10 years prior. Webb estimates that, based on surface area, one 29-inch pizza at Schiappa's is equal to 10 personal pies, meaning he alone must eat the equivalent of five personal pies in just 30 minutes. That said, Maassen's insight guides the duo to pick only vegetables for their four toppings because they're less filling — specifically, they choose green pepper, onion, mushrooms, and black olives. In the kitchen, Webb kinda can't help himself and adds a pepperoni smiley face on top of everything. Maybe that extra pepperoni makes a difference because Webb and Maassen are unable to down the whole thing in time.

In Season 7, Episode 11 of "Man v. Food," Casey Webb visits the Seventh Street Truck Park in St. Paul, Minnesota prior to an extravagant dessert challenge. Comprising the Seventh Street Truck Park are various indoor food trucks, a few of which Webb visits. At the food hall's proprietary pizza stand, he orders a huge, uniquely Minnesotan pie, appropriately called the Minnesota Wild Pizza.

One Minnesota Wild Pizza is 2 feet in diameter. While this is not quite in the realm of some of the more gargantuan pizzas featured on "Man v. Food," it's still plenty hefty by regular pizza standards. What makes this pizza both hearty and unique are its elk and boar sausage toppings. Slices of both kinds of sausage sit on an otherwise standard bed of marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and mushrooms. Webb and chef Brian Ingram cut one huge pizza into just four pieces — each slice looks like it's about equivalent to a personal pie, upping the wow factor even further.

Just one episode after trying the Minnesota Wild Pizza, Casey Webb attempts a Cincinnati, Ohio pizza challenge in "Man v. Food" Season 7, Episode 12. At New York pizzeria Roc-A-Fellas Pizza, he tries his hardest to beat the Bronx Bomber Challenge.

As is typical for a "Man v. Food" pizza challenge, the Bronx Bomber is a two-person job. Webb decides to partner with a Roc-A-Fellas regular named Derek Jacobs. Together, they must finish one Bronx Bomber, which Webb describes as a double-crusted pizza. This refers to a second, upper crust that sits on top of generous helpings of cheese, sauce, bacon, ham, sausage, and pepperoni. A single slice weighs a pound, and the pizza in its entirety consists of eight 1-pound slices. On the clock are just 30 minutes. Come game time, Webb and Jacobs decide to eat all of the toppings first and save the crusty ends for last since carbs fill the stomach faster. Halfway through the challenge, most of what's left on their plates is crust, but of course, eating what amounts to plain bread on an almost full stomach is no easy task. Nevertheless, they finish with time left on the clock, proving that even if the Bronx Bomber is gargantuan in size, eating a whole one is still just barely within the capabilities of mortal men.

Virtually every food challenge in "Man v. Food" tasks contestants with either eating an exorbitant portion or an extreme level of spice that pushes the limits of the Scoville scale. In Season 8, Episode 3, Casey Webb tries his hand at a food challenge that falls into the latter category. Nevertheless, beneath the spice is a serving of pizza that's pretty gigantic in its own right.

At Tony Boloney's Pizza in Hoboken, New Jersey, Webb faces off against the Seven Deadly Rings Challenge. While just one slice of pizza is at play, that single, giant slice is topped with seven chicken tenders. What makes this a spice challenge are increasing levels of heat on each successive chicken tender from the tip to the crust. Of course, stacking seven chicken tenders on a single slice of pizza is plenty extravagant in and of itself. At the time of filming, not a single competitor had completed the Seven Deadly Rings Challenge. Surely contributing to this phenomenon is the fact that the Seven Deadly Rings slice is just about the size of an entire small pizza, meaning its extremely spicy sauces cover a pretty sizable surface area. Webb makes it most of the way through his slice, but the biggest, spiciest ring proves too difficult in the end.

After falling to the Seven Deadly Rings Challenge in Hoboken, New Jersey, Casey Webb attempts another pizza challenge just seven episodes later, in "Man v. Food" Season 8, Episode 10. In Miami, Florida, Webb visits Steve's Pizza, where he and two buddies attempt to polish off a whopping 30-inch pizza pie.

Steve's Pizza is a Miami mainstay, serving New York pizza since its grand opening in 1997. Even on the regular menu at Steve's, size reigns supreme — a so-called small pizza boasts a 12-inch diameter, whereas a "jumbo" is 23 inches across. Of course, Webb goes even bigger, opting for a 30-inch, 11-pounder, equivalent to five whole medium pizzas at Steve's. He teams with Moiseis and Kurtis Salazar, a father and son local to Miami. The elder Salazar was part of a winning team previously, inspiring his son to take part this time around. Together they must pick two toppings, and they decide on pepperoni and green peppers. On the clock are 45 minutes. The pizza is divided into just eight slices, meaning each slice is genuinely humongous. Partway into the competition, after just about contributing his fair share, the younger Kurtis Salazar taps out. His father and Webb are unable to pick up the slack and fall to the 30-Inch Pizza Challenge, surrendering with just over four minutes left on the clock.

Is a pizza still a pizza no matter what's on top of it? In "Man v. Food" Season 10, Episode 7, the titular food item featured in the Menu Burger Challenge at the Fox & Hound Smokehouse in the Nevada portion of Lake Tahoe begs this very question.

Serving as Menu Burger Challenge's base is a personal pepperoni pizza, as simple in execution as could be. But, on top of that tiny pizza are pulled pork, fried eggs, a cheeseburger patty, bacon, seasoned french fries, chili, and a complete pineapple, teriyaki, jalapeño, and chicken cheesesteak sandwich. Accompaniments include a standard side salad and a handful of wings, neither of which contributes to the monstrous pizza tower, but both of which make the challenge harder all the same. It all adds up to 4 pounds of food and must be finished within an hour. Casey Webb maintains a steady pace throughout his 60 minutes, but hits the time limit with just a handful of bites left on his plate. Whether or not an entire sandwich counts as a pizza topping may be up for debate. But, what's inarguable is that the Menu Burger Challenge stacks an inordinate amount of food on top of a humble pepperoni pizza, making for one of the most unconventionally large pizzas in "Man v. Food" history.